Creatures

By Christopher Ridge

A five story collection of horror and science fiction creature stories. Big bugs destroying towns. Insects in outer space and creatures out at sea. These creature stories are fast paced and quick short reads. Some are light-hearted and some are gory and you can always count on a lot of action and destruction.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christopher Ridge
• Release date: Mar 19, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215218051

Christopher Ridge

Christopher Ridge is a creature feature horror and sci-fi writer. He enjoys B horror movies, aliens, monsters and mutant insects and such. To get an idea of what his stories and short novels are like think ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES, THEM, and IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE. He lives in Indianapolis Indiana with his wife and two sons.

Book preview

Welcome to a small collection of creature stories.  In here you will find creatures in space, creatures out at sea, creatures in the jungle, pretty much, creatures just about everywhere of various types. Some are gory, some light-hearted but they all are about creatures. There is also a giant bug story included. After all, what would a small collection be without a giant bug tale or two?

Hope you enjoy.

Special thanks for use of the photo to [e-mail]

TITAN BEETLE REVENGE

Bob Clark couldn't believe the size of the thing as it towered over the sub-division which were once cornfields.

Cookie cutter houses he called them because they all looked the same.

The first thing that crept into his mind when he saw it was that he was getting way too old for killing bugs and rats.

Shoulda quit this job back when he was thinking about that desk job at the truck company. But that wouldn't have been any easier either. The idea of being stuck in the same office as the branch manager filled him with disgust and hatred.

His body wasn't quite what it used to be. Thanks to a stroke, he lost vision in his left eye. Most recently his left leg because of a fight with a giant rat two years ago when the crazy critter bit it off. He can still see the large yellow chisel teeth sinking into his flesh and severing his leg as if it were nothing but a toothpick. The way it twitched its nose and its bloody whiskers. But at least he did manage to get a grenade down its throat and watch it erupt into a fiery mist of carnage and hair. He even saw his leg flying in the air and landing somewhere in the distant woods.

He balanced himself on the crutches and squinted his eye as he observed this large beetle creature and wondering how he was going to exterminate this thing.

Its eyes as big as houses and glowing red as they rotated around surveying the neighborhood.

He'd heard stories about this beetle in the past but thought they were all myths.

Humorous myths made up from various exterminators about large beetles showing up, devouring houses, and tearing stuff up.

Sure. Like the giant rat was supposed to be a myth too.

Then later came the giant ants. And let’s not talk about the humongous centipedes.

At the time it sounded very silly. Too silly to believe. It was known as the worst apocalypse ever.

The beetle appeared out of nowhere towering over the mountains and trees and standing high above the clouds.  It didn't even seem to be in physical form but more like a ghostly apparition.

Before it would appear, a loud screech could be heard from miles away and sounded like it was coming from the sky.

They thought the sounds were coming from God himself. People were running and screaming calling it the second coming.

It was the second coming all right but was a far cry from God. So, any sinners left that needed to do some repenting still had some time. At least this time around.

Dark clouds quickly rolled in and gathered in large masses as if the devil himself formed them. The beetle toyed with people as if to say, 'watch what I'm going to do. Y'all be looking out down there.'

The earth thundered and shook causing the ground to split open in large channels. Houses collapsed and fell into the dark abyss along with people. Car horns blared as the roads rose high as if something was underneath pushing them up. Concrete dust shooting like a geyser in Yellowstone State Park.

Houses and bridges falling into the craters. People screaming, waving, and kicking as their feet searched for solid ground.

Of course, none of this would be complete without the news anchors trying to get as much footage as possible, each trying to deliver the next story that is going to make them famous.

Bob shook his head in disgust and couldn't help but laugh as he watched some idiotic camera man getting shots of the beetle up close and personal. So personal the beetle swept him up in its mandible and shoved him and his camera in its mouth.

Hope he enjoys the ride into the gullet, Bob chuckled. Maybe one day the beetle will crap out that camera and his trip would be found footage like the Blair Witch Project.

He propped up the hoodie on his jacket to shield himself from as much of the rain as possible. It was coming down like bullets and the sky was completely black. The tornado alarm cut  like a knife causing his ears to ring.

The beetle’s shiny carapace, black like obsidian stone, moved back and forth in a rhythmic motion as if out on a quest.

It was. Its mission was to destroy everything in its path and it was doing a good job of it.

He watched as the beetle’s mandibles cut through the houses like paper sending them into splinters and leaving in its wake nothing but a pile of timbers and screaming victims